Alternatives to McDonald's Playplace

There are places that are indoor playgrounds. We can take 5 kids there for about 50-60 bucks and spend hours and hours there. They are running around and they don't notice that they are getting exercise. The bonus is that you can go in and play with them.

When my kids were little I used to take them to McD's or Burger king play land on rainy days. I would rotate between the 2 and go at non-meal times so my kids weren't hungry ( or me either). Often I would only buy a juice for the kids or a coffee for myself. I never tried bringing our own food....other than a sippy cup for the little one at the time. Non of the staff ever gave us a hard time about it. If you're concerned about it cal the management and ask if there is a policy. If they say that you can't come and play without buying complain....to head office or the local newspaper. Most places don't like the bad press.

PARKERMINER
Posts:
58
4/17/11 11:37 A

I am fortunate to live in a town with LOTS of parks within 5 miles of my house. they are all new and have some interesting structures. they are also covered with canopies so when it is sunny and hot the kids are protected. My family also takes at least 3 walks a week before bed time.

If it's a warm summer rain/day-no thunder and lightning then yes I let my kids outside to play-even if it's pouring. It's like having the world as your sprinkler!

Those days were they truly can't go out then we stay indoors and the kids play board games, w/their toys, watch TV etc.

Just this week there was only really 2 days where my kids couldn't go outside due to weather. Friday and Yesterday: Friday it was so windy here that the wind broke the glass on our door and took shingles of our neighbors roof. The kids couldn't go play.

Yesterday-It was freezing rain and still pretty windy. Not as windy as Friday, but still to windy to play. If it was WARMER out then I wouldn't wouldn't have cared if the kids were out in the rain and wind.

So that's 2 days out of the 7 where the weather really prevented them from being outside. Those days we can't go out we just stay in and the kids play with the computer, watch TV, play PS2, play board games. I even let them move all the chairs from the kitchen to the living room and make a fort with their blankets. (They just draped the blankets over the chairs).

Personally, I've found over all if the kids get at least some outside time during each day they really aren't chopping at the bit to get out on those days they can't. They are happy being indoors and playing w/the board games, watching TV, and other quiet indoor activities.

This is going to sound like a big fat excuse, but, a few weeks ago it was really sunny so we drove to the park. My daughter was SOOO EXCITED to go.

The park is somewhat shady in certain spots, there are some trees. There was very little snow on the ground, and only in patches - but several inches accumulated on the slides and other parts of the playground.

And what about when it is pouring down rain? Do you really let your kids play outside in the rain? (I'm talking downpour, not drizzle - or maybe even hail)

What about lightening?

What I'm saying is that it's not always practical or safe to play outside, and I'd like some ideas for indoor activities that are active.

If you don't mind me saying so I think you are just making accuses. If there isn't enough ground cover for sledding/snow angels, then their shouldn't be a large amount of cover on the swing and slides. Thus playing on them shouldn't be an issue providing the child is wearing the proper "snow" gear to keep them dry and warm. It doesn't take much to brush off the snow to use the swing and sometimes have a little snow on the slide make it a little bit more fun!

With that said we don't go "outside" as often as we should or the kids would like, because I THINK it's a little to bit cold, wet, snowy, etc. Am I totally proud of that-No I'm not! However it's the way I am, and I think by nature most adults are. We, as adults, don't want to sit in snow, play when it's muddy, but in reality our kids don't care...they are for the most part just happy to be playing and will play for hours if they are dress for the weather. I know that if I dressed myself for the weather I would stay out longer myself.

If you are looking for more "fun" for you outside you may want to look into geocaching. You do need a GPS device to play. As long as you have one of them it's free. You just go to the website...sign up for an account (free) and find caches near you that you kind find. We just started to do that ourselves last month and my kids have a blast even though the only caches we have chosen right now are along bike paths. Making it "easier" for me.

Kinda hard to play on the swings/slides if there's snow on them. And if there's only a few inches of snow, it's not enough to play in (like snow angels/snowmen/sledding).

Yes, we're still getting snow here. It's April 16th.

She will be in swim class this summer, but we can only afford the classes at the outdoor pool, not the YMCA (theirs are rather expensive). So that won't start until June or July. I never learned how to swim so all I do is stand there in the pool.

McD's playplace is filthy no matter how clean it looks. I concur...go outside! Dress for the weather and find a park. Half an hour in the snow with proper attire is GOOD for them. The heat? Again, dress appropriately, drink lots of water, and keep playtime limited to short duration, but don't restrict it. Don't forget about SWIMMING!!! One of the best exercises ever, and a great way to stay cool AND fit. Other than that, for indoor at home a Wii was a great investment for us. A little more expensive than what we normally pay for things, but worth it.

LUANN_IN_PA
Posts:
25,734
4/16/11 10:50 A

There weren't McDonald's playplaces when I raised my kids.

We went outside, and they live to tell about it. Same with all their friends.

It's been my experience that the kids are less affected by the weather than some parents....

I know how you feel I live in WI and we go from 1 extreme to the next as well while it may not always be comfortable for us its still important to get that fresh air and play outside! In my experience kids don't mind the weather as much as adults they're just happy to be outside and playing! My rule is as long as its over 20 and not windy in the winter and not over 90 and humid in the summer we're outside even if its just for short periods of time.

Inside play can still be active my daughter loves obstacle courses we pull couch cushions to stack chairs and blankets to make crawl throughs any piece of furniture handy she loves it! Or we just turn on music and dance around the house anything to get us both moving!

I live in a very small town, and the ONLY indoor place for a child to play is at McDonald's.

The weather sucks here, year-round. It's either cold and snowy, or 100 degrees. We really get no in-between. We also get these really nasty bugs in the summertime. It's just not very pleasant to be outside most of the time.

How can I make something FUN for a kid without going to a park, or going to McDonald's?

Our apartment is fairly small.

That, and have any of you got in trouble/kicked out of a McDonald's for bringing your food and not buying any of theirs?

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this website can be used without the permission of SparkPeople or its authorized affiliates.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013